A Unique Approach to Comply with the New Source Performance Standards NSPS for Methane Emissions for Hydrocarbon Producing Wells

摘要

For decades, downstream hydrocarbon production facilities have been faced with compliance with the EPA Leak Detection and Repair (LDAR) fugitive emissions program. Now the upstream business must comply with the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for VOC emissions for the oil and natural gas industry per EPA's proposed rules that would require that the industry reduce methane emissions. Specifically, the EPA intends on reducing fugitive methane and VOC emissions from new and modified oil and natural gas production well sites. Wellhead Emissions Management Systems, LLC of Houston, Texas has a developed a patent pending approach for the remediation of Methane and VOC emissions for gas production wellheads at a significantly lower cost than currently estimated by the EPA. Per the EPA-Regulatory Analysis Engineering Compliance Cost Estimates, the second most expensive item to comply with under the proposed regulation is fugitive emissions. The 2020 capital cost of compliance is estimated to range from $15MUSD to $22M increasing to $95M to $140M by 2025. The annualized cost of compliance is estimated to be between $29M and $47M swelling to $180M to $290M by 2025. Additional annual cost compliance estimates developed by the EPA state the cost to control wellhead fugitive emissions to be $310MUSD or $2,237 per well per year. Industry estimates for compliance have placed the cost at 0.65 cents per 1,000 SCF of gas produced. The containment and remediation system currently in field testing by Wellhead Emissions Management Systems, LLC expects to reduce the annualized cost by 30% per wellhead, while at the same time eliminating the need for immediate maintenance on wellheads when emission levels exceed the EPA NSPS allowable levels.